Dangerous and repeat offenders should be sent to prison to punish them for their crimes

Essex Tory MP Priti Patel

In one shocking case a ­person who came before the courts for a drug offence was allowed to walk free despite having almost 300 previous convictions.

In another case the court refused to jail an individual for breaching an Anti Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) despite 66 separate occasions when the person had admitted previous breaches of similar ASBOs.

The revelations on how some of the nation’s most regular offenders still manage to avoid jail are sure to fuel the debate on whether the criminal justice system is too soft.

Data from the Ministry of Justice shows in the past year there were seven “career ­criminals” who were let off with either a suspended or community sentence despite having been responsible for a catalogue of crimes.

The roll of shame includes:

SEXUAL ASSAULT: An ­individual who came before the courts for committing a sex attack escaped a prison ­sentence despite having six previous convictions for sex crimes and 289 other crimes in his past.

BENEFIT FRAUD: A person who was convicted of a third offence of swindling benefit and had 31 other offences to their name walked free.

SEX OFFENDERS: A court failed to jail a person who ­admitted their 12th offence of failing to comply with the ­conditions of the sex offenders’ register. The person also had 173 other previous ­convictions on their record.

INTERNET PORNOGRAPHY: A person with 28 previous ­convictions including two for taking indecent pictures of children managed to walk free from court.

JOYRIDING: An individual, who was in court being ­sentenced for his 39th offence of taking a car without the consent of the owner avoided a jail sentence despite also ­having another 197 crimes on his record.

ASBO: A court failed to jail a person who came before them for the 67th time for breaching the terms of an ASBO and ­having another 188 crimes to their name.

DRUGS: One person with a record of 36 drugs offences avoided jail when they came before the court for a new drugs-linked offence. The ­person also had 252 previous convictions for other offences.

“Dangerous and repeat offenders should be sent to prison to punish them for their crimes. The failure to send these offenders to jail is putting public safety at risk and letting down the victims of crime.

“The public expect the courts to keep them safe by locking up repeat offenders and not ­setting them free to commit even more crime.”

She added: “Judges and ­magistrates who release these dangerous ­criminals should take a long hard look at the consequences of their ­decisions.”